


It Helps

by McKay



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-25
Updated: 2017-05-25
Packaged: 2018-11-04 16:41:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10994838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/McKay/pseuds/McKay
Summary: Severus receives an unexpected surprise. Set post-war.





	It Helps

**Author's Note:**

> Written in 2006.

Days at Spinners End bled into one another in an endless parade of sunrises and sunsets that brought nothing with them but more empty stretches of quiet solitude. Severus' name had been cleared, but he was still a prisoner, only without visible bars penning him in. He earned a little money by selling potions by owl order under a pseudonym, but in all other respects, he felt like a ghost. 

He didn't remember the last time he had received a letter that wasn't business-related, and he peered at the address on the front, certain it had been delivered to him by mistake. There was no return address, and although he refused to acknowledge it, it was perhaps indicative of how lonely he was that he had already torn open the envelope in his haste to see what it was and whom it was from _before_ it occurred to him that it might be a trick or a trap. It wouldn't be the first, after all. 

A blob of glittery scarlet ink sparkled and pulsated in the center of the parchment, and then it began to ooze, spreading out to form words. 

_I want to see you._

Severus scowled, wanting to crumple the paper up and toss it in the fire, but something - he chose to pretend it was mere curiosity - stayed his hand. 

_Kindly don't hex me on sight._

Severus' scowl deepened. Likely someone wanted him to do something. Perhaps he was about to be volunteered to help round up the last of the Death Eaters on behalf of the Ministry. 

_Happy Valentine's Day._

With that, the glittery letters squished back into a blob, and Severus tossed the parchment onto his desk. It was a joke, he thought as he returned to his worktable and began slicing ginger root with unnecessary viciousness. Just a stupid joke. 

It was perhaps an hour later when someone arrived at his front door and rang the bell. Severus drew his wand as he approached the door just in case his visitor was also the person who had sent the note, and their visit was not for benign purposes. Peering out the window, he saw Remus Lupin standing on his doorstep, but he didn't put his wand away as he opened the door and glared at him. 

"You aren't connected to the Floo," Lupin remarked mildly. 

"Safety precaution. What do you want?" Severus demanded brusquely. 

"I told you." Lupin removed his hands from the pockets of his cardigan - dark blue instead of dull brown, Severus noted, and not threadbare or patched - and held them out as if to show he was unarmed. "I want to see you." 

Lupin was responsible for the note? That was unexpected, Severus thought as he grudgingly stood aside and let Lupin enter, for no other reason than curiosity - or so he told himself. 

"I repeat: what do you want?" Severus remained standing once they reached his small parlor, and he folded his arms, staring down his nose at Lupin. 

"To give you this." Lupin reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box tied with red ribbon; he held it out while Severus eyed it dubiously as if expecting it to explode, and he kept holding it out until Severus finally took it. 

Still wary, Severus untied the ribbon and lifted the lid to find a tray of four dark chocolate hearts inside. He frowned at them, refusing to take one and eat it in spite of the rich scent wafting up to his nose, and then he transfered the frown to Lupin. 

"What is the meaning of this?" he demanded, growing angry at being the butt of a joke he didn't understand. 

"Today is February the fourteenth." Lupin gestured to the box. "Giving chocolates is customary." 

"To a sweetheart." Severus sneered as he spoke the word. "You already have one of those." 

"Not anymore." Lupin shook his head, his expression wistful. "Not for a while." 

"I won't be part of your stupid games!" But still, Severus couldn't quite make himself hurl the box at Lupin. 

"I'm not playing a game, and I'm not making fun of you." Lupin smiled slightly and slid his hands into his pockets, watching Severus closely. "You've been alone too long. So have I." He shrugged. "So I brought you chocolates. Consider it a peace offering." 

Severus stared down at the innocuous little heart-shaped sweets, uncertain, and when he lifted his chin again, he fixed Lupin with a haughty look. "I suppose you want tea." 

"Tea would be lovely, thanks." Lupin's smile widened as he took a seat on the sofa. 

Severus closed the box and put it on the tea table. "There had better not be any missing when I get back." 

"I draw the line at stealing other people's chocolate," Lupin said solemnly, but Severus saw the mischievous twinkle in his eyes. 

Severus peered at him with narrow eyes and gave a quiet "hmph" before pivoting on his heel and marching off to the kitchen to make tea and scrounge up some biscuits. The stream of quiet, empty, uneventful days seemed to have been broken by the most unlikely person in a most unexpected way, and for the first time in a long time, Severus no longer felt like a ghost just waiting to fade away. 

Lupin always said chocolate helped. Now Severus knew he was right.


End file.
